Fishers of Men

Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.  And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.  And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.

Mark 1:16-18

When Jesus came walking along the sea of Galilee and came to Simon and Andrew, He told them to follow Him.  Making the best decision of their lives, they immediately forsook all and followed Him.  But what Jesus told them was interesting: “Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.”

These men were fishermen by trade.  Fishing was their job and their livelihood.  It was “what they did.”  But when Jesus came, He told them that He would make them fishers of men.  There was nothing wrong with them catching fish for a living.  But Jesus had something higher in mind for them.  He had a higher calling for them, if they would step out by faith and take it – which they did.

We all have jobs and careers.  Just think for a second about all of the occupations of the people you know.  There is probably a great variety.  In fact, we have probably done many different jobs ourselves over the course of a lifetime.  There is nothing wrong with having a job or having a career.  But it is important to not allow ourselves to become defined by our occupations.  As Christians, we all have a “higher calling.”  We do something to make money to support our families, but we should be, first and foremost, followers of Jesus Christ.

I am a teacher.  But when I think about “what I am,” I should think “Christian,” not “teacher.”  When I think about “what I do,” I should think “I follow Jesus.”  No matter what our occupation, we are all called to “follow Him.”

*I am going to be gone this week, so feel free to comment, but I will not be able to respond until this weekend.  Thanks for reading!

What To Do When Jesus Calls

Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.  And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.  ANd straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.  And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee,and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.  And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.

Mark 1:16-20

This is a great illustration of the power and magnetism of the Lord Jesus.  He walked along the sea of Galilee and He saw Andrew and Simon fishing.  He told them to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men.  I don’t know if they even understood what exactly that meant and what all it involved, but something about Jesus spoke to them.  When Jesus speaks to you, you answer: “And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.”  “Straightway” – I like that.  Immediately after being told to come with Him, they forsook all and followed Him.  Jesus said follow and they dropped their nets and followed.

Think of what that involved.  These men were fishermen by trade.  They left their very livelihood to follow Him into the unknown.  That is faith.

He continued walking and saw James and John in a boat.  He called them and they left everything (including their father and hired servants) and followed Him.  When Jesus called these men, nothing else mattered.

When Jesus called these men, they immediately forsook all and followed Him.  That is the correct response when He calls.  What do we do when Jesus calls?

*I am going to be gone this week, so feel free to comment, but I will not be able to respond until this weekend.  Thanks for reading!

Repent and Believe

Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.  And Saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Mark 1:14-15

John was put into prison, and Jesus came behind him, preaching “the gospel of the kingdom of God.”  What was this “gospel of the kingdom of God?”  This is what He preached: “repent ye, and believe the gospel.”  I think that is a pretty good summary of the gospel of the kingdom of God.  In fact, I know it’s a good summary because Jesus is the one Who gave it.

“Repent ye.”  Repentance is a turning or a changing of the mind.  The one in the Bible Who repents most is God Himself.  He repented often in the Old Testament.  He changed His mind and, thus, changed His course of action.  That is what we do when we repent at salvation.  We turn to the Lord.  We change our mind about the Lord and about ourselves.  This change of mind brings about a change in our direction.

“Believe the gospel.”  What is the gospel?  The gospel according to I Corinthians 15:3-4 is the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  That is what we have to believe.  We have to believe that Jesus died for us, was buried and rose again the third day.  We simply believe what God said in His Word.

Jesus came after John preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, which was repentance and faith in the gospel.  That is exactly what we should be preaching today to everyone who will listen.  Jesus did it in His day and now, two thousand years later, it is our responsibility to get His message out.  How are we doing?

*I am going to be gone this week, so feel free to comment, but I will not be able to respond until this weekend.  Thanks for reading!

The Goodness of the Lord

The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.  The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.  Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

Psalm 145:14-16

The Psalms are full of passages praising the Lord for His goodness and mercy and it is so encouraging to read them.  I have heard of people reading one Psalm a day or even five Psalms a day.  I think that would be wise; it would help us to remember just how good the Lord is to us.  Look at what these verses say about Him:

He “upholdeth all that fall…”  When we fall, we don’t have to stay down forever.  When we fall, He is there to help us back to our feet.  Imagine not having a merciful Saviour to help you when you fall.

He “raiseth up all those that be bowed down.”  Sometimes we might not fall, but we just get “bowed down.”  We get worn out and discouraged and weak.  He is there to “raise us up.”  He is there to strengthen us and help us.

He “givest them their meat in due season.”  He meets our needs blessed us even beyond that.  He knows exactly what we need and exactly when we need it, and He is there to supply it.  Have you ever thought about the fact that He already knows what needs we will have tomorrow and is already working to meet those needs?  What a wonderful Lord!

He opens His hand and “satisfiest the desire of every living thing.”  The Lord not only provides for us, He provides for everything in this world that He created.  Just by opening His hand He can meet the needs of every living thing.

We cannot thank the Lord too much for His goodness and mercy, and staying in the Psalms will help us to keep that thankful spirit.

*I am going to be gone this week, so feel free to comment, but I will not be able to respond until this weekend.  Thanks for reading!

Preparing the Way

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.  The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Mark 1:1-3

This particular passage is speaking about John the Baptist, but I think that it could apply to any Christian.  The job of John the Baptist was to go before Jesus and “prepare the way before Him.”  He was supposed to prepare the way and make “the paths straight” by preaching repentance.  That is what we are supposed to be doing.

John did his job before Jesus came the first time.  Jesus is coming again, which we are all watching and waiting for.  We are the ones here now.  We should be doing our job of preparing the way for His second coming.  We should be doing the same thing that John the Baptist did: preparing the way by straightening things out and preaching repentance.

We straighten things out by teaching, preaching and practicing righteousness.  Paths are made crooked by sin and they are straightened out by the Lord Jesus and His righteousness.  We need to start by straightening our own paths, then we can help others straighten their paths.

We need to be preaching repentance.  Repentance is a change of mind or attitude.  It is a turning.  In this case, it is a turning away from sin and toward the Lord Jesus.

Those are the things that John the Baptist did to prepare the way for the first coming of Jesus Christ.  Those are the things that we need to do to prepare the way for His second coming.  John did his job so well that he was martyred for it.  How are we doing?

He Is Not Here

In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.  And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.  He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Matthew 28:1-2, 5-6

“He is not here: for he is risen…”  That has to be one of the most powerful phrases in the entire Bible.

These women had come to see the sepulchre of Jesus.  It had been three days and they were coming to anoint the body with spices.  There they found the stone rolled away and an angel sitting there.  The angel told them to “Fear not.”  He also told them that he knew they were there seeking Jesus.  But there was one problem.  Jesus was no longer there.  “He is not here: for he is risen.”

That was the immediate context of those spoken words.  But the power of those words continues to reverberate through history.  “He is not here: for he is risen” is what separates Jesus Christ from every other “religious leader” in history.  “He is not here: for he is risen” is what separates Jesus Christ from every other “good man” and every other martyr in history.  “He is not here: for he is risen” is the reason for our hope and our eternal life.  “He is not here: for he is risen” are among the most important words ever spoken.

We serve a living Saviour.  Let us never forget that and let the awe of that fact never grow old in our hearts and minds!

*I am going to be gone this week, so feel free to comment, but I will not be able to respond until this weekend.  Thanks for reading!

Joy Unspeakable (Hymn)

Joy Unspeakable
Barney E. Warren (1900)

I have found His grace is all complete,
He supplieth every need;
While I sit and learn at Jesus’ feet,
I am free, yes, free indeed.

Refrain:
It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,
Full of glory, full of glory;
It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,
Oh, the half has never yet been told.

I have found the pleasure I once craved,
It is joy and peace within;
What a wondrous blessing, I am saved
From the awful gulf of sin.

I have found that hope so bright and clear,
Living in the realm of grace;
Oh, the Savior’s presence is so near,
I can see His smiling face.

I have found the joy no tongue can tell,
How its waves of glory roll;
It is like a great o’erflowing well,
Springing up within my soul.

Think about what it means to be a Christian.  We are forgiven.  We are saved from the wrath to come.  We are the very children of God.  We have direct access to the throne of the Father.  We could go on and on and on.  But when you start thinking about all of these things, you begin to understand that it truly is “joy unspeakable and full of glory!”

Pilate’s Advice

Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the thrid day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.  Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.  So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

Matthew 27:62-66

After the Pharisees and priests went to Pilate and asked him to make sure that Jesus stayed in the tomb, Pilate gave them an answer that I find interesting.  He told them to “make it as sure as ye can.”  He didn’t tell them that it was secure.  He didn’t even tell to secure it.  He told them to make it as sure as ye can.  “Do your best.”

Thinking about this is incredible: the priests and Pharisees did their best to keep Jesus in the tomb.  They “made it as sure as they could.”  They did everything in their power to make sure that Jesus stayed in that sepulchre.  They sealed the tomb and set a watch over it.  There would be no stealing His body.  There would be no accidents.  There would be no mistaken identity.  There would be no way that a human being could get out of that tomb.  They made it as sure as they could.

But they didn’t account for one thing.  Jesus is no mere man.  Jesus is God.  Jesus has power over death.  Jesus created that rock that used to seal the tomb.  Jesus gave those guards life.  No power on earth or in Hell could keep in that tomb and certainly no little precautions taken by the priests and Pharisees would keep Him there.  They did all they could, but He lives!  Amen to that!

Who’s Nervous?

Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.  Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

Matthew 27:62-64

After they had crucified Jesus, the Pharisees and priests came to Pilate and basically told him that they were nervous about Jesus “disappearing.”  Of course, they said that they were nervous about the disciples stealing the body proclaiming Him risen.  But I have to wonder if they were really just a little nervous that He was who He said He was.  I can’t help but think that they were just a little nervous that He really would rise from the dead.  After all, they had seen Him heal the sick and they had even seen Him raise the dead.  His words “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up”  (John 2:19) had to be echoing in their minds.

So, in light of this, they asked Pilate to secure the sepulchre.  Think of that.  When someone dies, you usually don’t think about “securing the grave.”  And if you do, you think about it from the standpoint of keeping people out of the grave, not keeping the person in the grave.  I think that, deep down in their hypocritical hearts, the Pharisees knew that Jesus spoke the truth.  I think they were running a little scared.  They had killed their “enemy,” but as He died, the veil of the temple was ripped in half, graves were opened, bodies of saints came out of the graves, and many other strange things happened.

The Pharisees and priests were nervous because they knew the truth and rejected it.  Had they accepted Jesus, it would have been a whole different story.  Think about how our conscience bothers us when we do wrong; imagine being in their shoes.  They wanted that tomb sealed tight, but it would not work!

One Generation to the Next

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.  One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.  I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.

Psalm 145:3-5

This is a recurring theme throughout the Bible – it is our responsibility to pass our knowledge and wisdom about the Bible and the God of the Bible to the next generation.  Here the Psalmist says that “one generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.”  It is important for each generation to let the next generation know about the victories that the Lord has wrought in their lives.

We are supposed to “praise thy works to another” and “declare thy mighty acts.”  If God has done a good work in us (which he has), we are to be letting the next generation know about that.  If we have witnessed any of His “mighty acts” (which we have), we are to be telling people about them.

The Bible tells us that to whom much is given, much shall be required.  If we know the Lord, we have been given much.  We are responsible to tell others about Him.  We have been given everything, and we need to make sure that the next generation knows about all that He has given us and done for us.

If we don’t tell the next generation about Him, who will?  They certainly aren’t going to hear it from the world.  They aren’t going to hear about the mighty acts of the Lord or His wonderful works on TV.  If they are going to hear it, they are going to hear it from us.  How are we doing at our responsibility to pass it on?